First, I must state I'm quite surprise - and even somewhat saddened - to notice there are so few votes for this film, and only one other user-comment apart from mine. It's strange, because an uncut and marvelously restored version of "La Noche de le Ira" - aka "Blood Hunt" - is available on BluRay for quite a long time already.
I call upon all of you, fellow cult fanatics & collectors out there, to seek this one out! It makes a wonderful addition to any collection, and the film itself is also greatly entertaining, grim, nasty, and shocking. The other review on the page, from my old pal The_Void who regrettable is inactive nowadays, isn't so optimistic as mine, but I understand, because it's most likely based on a badly dubbed and poorly bootlegged version.
So far for my contribution to promote this Spanish cult-jewel, and to help emerge it from obscurity. "Blood Hunt" is a clever and engaging variation on the ancient action/thriller formula of hunting human beings for sport. Extremely popular since the early days of cinema already, thanks to the landmark "The Most Dangerous Game", and copied to a wide variety of settings over the years, like prison camps in "The Woman Hunt" and "Blood Camp Thatcher", big cities in "Surviving the Game" and "Hard Target" or vicious foreign countries in the recent "The Hunt". "Blood Hunt" takes in a secluded Spanish community and, moreover, it's more than just a sick game; - it's a memorial event!
The newly arrived doctor Lieman gradually, and much to his disgust, discover that the entire town participates in the annual hunting down of a large group of homeless drug-addicts that are first kidnapped and imprisoned in what superficially looks like a kind of rehabilitation clinic. They are set free and relentlessly pursued on the 15th of May, because on the same day in 1978, several respectable villagers got killed when drug-addicts invaded their town's festival and committed robberies. When the good doctor tries to put a stop to the macabre tradition, he's declared an outcast as well.
To be honest, "Blood Hunt" is somewhat overlong and occasionally too slow-paced during the first hour. On the other hand, I really admire how the relatively unknown director Javier Elorrieta patiently builds up tension and takes his time to make clear who are the genuine monsters in town, and who the cowardly followers. In terms of violence and bloodshed, there are two undeniable highlights in the film, namely the flashback to spring 1978, and the outrageous finale. The performances are very good, although there aren't many familiar faces. Aldo Sambrell is a famous Spanish cult-figure, but he's the only one I recognized. Agustin Gonzalez plays the town's hateful leader, and he's very disturbing and a dead ringer for Eli Walach. Another villain who impresses is Aramis Ney as the clinic proprietor, whose minion carry around heavy shotgun and dress in black leather raincoats. Creepy!
